this morning, triple tragedy. >> we are learning of a new setback for a victim of the colorado massacre. as the accused mastermind returns to court, slammed with 142 charges that could lead to the death penalty. swimmers beware. a rare shark attack. spreading through fear at one of america's most popular summer playgrounds. golden girl. she's being called the female michael phelps. missy franklin, taking the gold in london. stealing hearts back here at home. and face time. a sillier side to a serious moment. what divers really look like as they take the plunge.

good tuesday morning. i'm sunny hostin in for paula faris. >> good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. some of those who lived through the night of terror in colorado were in the courtroom as those charges were read. >> they watched as james holmes sat stonefaced, hearing the 142 counts against him. abc's tahman bradley has more. >> reporter: in a packed colorado courtroom, james holmes heard the charges that could cost him his life. just as he did in court last week, he sat dazed and confused. prosecutors charged holmes with 142 counts. two first-degree murder charges for each of those who were killed. and two attempted first-degree murder charges for everyone who was involved. >> one count of an explosive device. >> reporter: if convicted, holmes could face the death penalty. many of the victims and their families showed up to see holmes face the charges.

they saw his fiery orange hair and heard him speak for the first time if he wanted to waive his right to a speedy trial. >> he looked like an animal in a corner. just a sickly animal that was defeated. >> reporter: as the case moves forward, there's sad news this morning about one of the victims. ashl ashley mosler, who lost her daughter in the shooting, is now expected to be paralyzed. >> to take away anybody's life for just going to the movies. and i also felt sorry for him in the sense that here was a brilliant person that could have done a lot of good. >> reporter: defense attorneys and prosecutors argued over whether a notebook mailed to his psychiatrist could be used in the case. the judge will make a decision whether he is mentally ill next

month. tahman bradley, abc news. in an illinois courtroom today, opening statements begin in the trial of drew peterson, the former suburban chicago cop accused of killing his third wife. kathleen savio's death was ruled accidental in 2004. but he was charged with murdered when his fourth wife mysteriously vanished. overseas now, where thousands of syrians, many of them severely wounded are fleeing the worsening violence in their country. the u.n. has said about 200,000 syrians have left the country over the past 10 days with many ending up in refugee camps like this one. abc's alexander marquardt has made the difficult and dangerous journey into northern syria, showing what it's like in one town under siege. >> reporter: the devastation in this town is absolutely staggering. there's hardly a building that hasn't been damaged in some fashion. and it's essentially a ghost

town. everyone has fled. and we're told that there's villages and towns across the region. >> alex says he's seen similar scenes in town after town. it was meant to protect innocent people. mitt romney wraps up his visit overseas with a major speech in poland, just a few hours from now his presidential campaign is trying to recover from another gaffe, this time in the middle east. in a speech to jewish donors in which he suggested that their culture was what allowed hem to be more economically successful than the palestinians. that comment outraged palestinian leaders. the campaign, though, says that comment was simply taken out of context. we're learning that the democratic party plans to include support for gay marriage in its platform for the first time. delegates approved that platform at the convention in charlotte. same-sex marriage supporters got a big boost back in may when president obama voiced his

personal support for same-sex unions. a very sad story. police say a player with the nfl tennessee titans has died of an apparent suicide. o.j. murdoch was found in his car yesterday in tampa with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. a former coach said he spoke to murdoch last week. and there was no indication there was anything wrong. swimmers are keeping a close eye on the waters off cape cod, after an apparent shark attack. a man was bitten just yesterday. and witnesses say they saw a huge fin poking out of the water. our boston affiliate has details from the cape. >> reporter: beachgoers watched in horror as a man in his 40s was carried off boston beach by emts. both legs wrapped in gauze. witnesses say he was swimming with his teenage son about 100 yards offshore, when a dorsal fin came out of the water.

and he was pulled under. >> people brought him back. >> they dragged him out. they had to carry him up here. and they had to wrap it around his legs. both of his legs were pretty bad. >> reporter: a vacationing surgeon treated the victim first. the bite wounds extended to the bone. by evening, the warning signs had been posted opinion and environmental police had launched a search team. >> it's a little alarming, i have to say. with kids and boys that are pretty brave and like to go far out, deep in the water. it's a little alarming, especially with the seals coming so close. >> reporter: the seals have been getting closer to many of the cape's eastern-facing beaches, attracting the great whites with them. numerous sightings and taggings have been reported since may. but we've seen nothing to suggest an actual attack until now. environmental police will only confirm they are investigating this as a potential shark attack. and boston beach is closed while they do. i'm mary salada in troy, massachusetts, for abc news.

>> be careful in the water. time to look at weather across the country on your tuesday morning. we have pop-up showers from d.c. to boston, with heavy rain along the coast. also, some afternoon thunderstorms from pittsburgh to indianapolis. hail and high winds in the south, from atlanta to new orleans. thunderstorms and flash flooding in the southwest. >> 90s and triple-digits in the rockies and plains. 80s across the midwest. 70s in the northeast and the pacific northwest. coming up next after the break, surprising, new details about the president's family tree. plus, the news apple fans have been waiting for. we'll tell you what to expect, when to expect the newest iphone, now apparently just weeks away. and later in "the pulse," china's superswimmer now raising

welcome back, everybody. we may get some action from the federal reserve this week. it appears more fed officials now want the central bank to take action to stimulate the economy. the fed's open market committee is meeting today and tomorrow. it may hold off major action until september. and the u.s. postal service is expected to default tomorrow on a $5.5 billion payment to the federal government. the agency is losing 25 million bucks every day and doesn't have the cash, which would fund the reti retiree's health benefits. there won't be disruption in service or payroll.

chrysler is reporting a $436 million profit for the past quarter. a big change from a year ago. its concentration on the north american market is paying off. other automakers are being hurt by europe's economic woes. and gas prices are creeping upward again. the national average is around $3.50 a gallon. up a penny in the past week. that's the fourth-consecutive week the prices have gone up as crude oil prices increase. but it's 20 cents less than a year ago. apple fans, brace yourself. here we go. we should be seeing the next iphone in six weeks. there's many reports that apple will unveil it on september 12th. along with a smaller ipad tablet. apple might announce other new products and updates then, too. deliveries will start nine days later. as usual, there's no confirmation of any of this from apple itself. and our obsession with mobile devices isn't just a danger while driving.

it could be hazardous while you walk. emergency room are seeing four-times as many injuries have distracted walking as seven years ago. as people talk on their phones, text and send e-mail messages. but governments are finding it difficult to regulate pedestrians. >> i hope you were listening to that story, mrs. iphone on the desk. a true iphone addicts. watch the cameras. they're expensive. when we come back this morning, signs of slavery found in the president's family tree. some very surprising new findings. and then, the very latest from london, including america's golden girl in the pool, missy franklin. stay with us. a party? [ music plays, record skips ] hi, i'm new ensure clear. clear, huh? my nutritional standards are high. i'm not juice or fancy water, i'm different. i've got nine grams of protein. twist my lid. that's three times more than me!

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way. so, the suv speeds ahead, avoiding oncoming traffic. but the next time we see it, the suv is on the shoulder, from which the driver delivered the well-timed soaking of the sedan. and the best part of it, the car's windows were open and everything got soaked. >> a little taste of road rage on your tuesday morning. be careful out there, folks. let's look at your morning road conditions. we have thunderstorms that will drench highways in the southwest, from albuquerque to sin city. also, a slick commute from the gulf coast into the carolinas. roadways will be wet at time in the northeast and the ohio valley. >> if you're flying, airport delays are possible in the south, in atlanta, charlotte and new orleans. now, we turn to a fascinating, new look into the president o president's ancestry. mr. obama is related to one of the first african slaves in the u.s., john punch.

>> it was traced to his mother's side of the family, surprising because she was white. she turned out to have a mixed race family history. >> amazing what genealogy can uncover these days. the rash of bomb threats plaguing walmart stores has made it to the new york area. 700 customers and workers were forced to leave while police searched for explosives. however, nothing was found. searches after recent threats in the midwest also turned up empty. and you can guess what that music and graphic means. time for our olympic update. all of the action from london. we start with american success in the pool. >> yes. 17-year-old missy franklin is the gold medal winner in the women's 100-meter backstroke. she won the race just 13 minutes after qualifying for today's 200 freestyle final. this fall, franklin will be a

high school senior in aurora, colorado. and she dedicated her gold medal win to her home state. >> they need something to rally around. >> yes. >> after what they've been through. great for her. > and it was a american one-two finish in the american's 100 backstroke. >> and teammate nick fellman was just behind him, taking the silver. congratulations to all of them. >> but there's no other way to say this one. it was nothing but disappointment for america's male gymnasts. despite going to yesterday's team finals in first place, they failed to win anything. in fact, they ended up finishing fifth. >> it all fell apart with disappointing performances on the pamle horse. the gymnasts were trying to win gold for the first time since 1984. >> we go to day four of the

competition, with china and the u.s. tied, with 17 total medals. the chinese have won four more golds than the americans. japan is in third with 11 total. most of them bronze. and there are 15 medal events set for today. >> plenty of events. today's events include team usa battling the russians in the women's gymnastics team finals. several finals in swimming are taking place. michael phelps and ryan lochte will be in action. and in men's basketball, the u.s. faces tunisia this afternoon. >> i'm predicting a close game with tunisia. >> yeah. ha. >> within 40 points. here at home, today marks major league baseball's trading deadline. >> as for action on the field, we get last night's highlights now from espn. >> cassidy hubbarth with your "sportscenter" update. we start with the reds that are looking to build on their winning streak. taking on the padres. top seven. padres down 3-0. fleiss out to right field.

cameron maybin, to right. appears to be hurt after the play. would stay in the game. the padres, down 3-2. top third, padres up by three. bases loaded. will vennible, to left field. padres increase their lead, 8-3. later in the inning, the 1-0 pitch to case headily. doesn't like the call. fairchild gives him the boot. after the ejection, he yells as fairchild insurlts him. given everything he can. padres go on to win 11-5. a.l. battle between the angels and rangers. mike trout, back after missing a game with a knee injury. didn't appear to be hurt in this one. trout with a two-run shot to right. his 17th of the season. ninth in july. second-most in the a.l. this

month. scott hamilton, at the plate a bit. but got off the snide with this bomb to left. had multiple hits for the first time since may 30th. in the fifth, game tied at 3-3. kendrys morales had the run to right. still in the sixth, morales, this time, a grand slam to right center from the other side of the plate. morales, the third player in major league history to do so in the same inning. angels win it, 15-8. coming up "wednesday night baseball." tigers and sox, from detroit. they look to build on their three-game win streak. check this game out at 7:00 eastern on espn, espn3, and also available on the watch espn app. and coming up next, how does she do it? china's lightning-fast phenom, faster than all the guys in london. some are calling this all a little suspicious. and smile. face time at the diving event.o all over my body. n it just wouldn't go away.

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>> each painful expression making it clear this is not nearly as easy as it looks. >> it's hard. >> they look a little constipated. but they're hanging in there. how about a 16-year-old chinese swimmer that's making a lot of headlines. >> she's ye shiwen. and she is posting amazing times. some of them are faster than the best men in the world. the chinese insist she is that good because she's been groomed for swimming since the age of 5. that's when her teacher noticed her large hands and feet. >> i should swim well then. >> you have big feet? >> i have big feet. finally, the u.s. swim team and the song of the summer. ♪ hey, i just met you and this is crazy ♪ ♪ but here's my number so, call me maybe ♪ >> well, that's a pretty well done lip-synced video of carly

rae jepsen's "call me maybe." >> that song is everywhere. local news is next for some of you. i'm a marathon runner, in absolute perfect physical condition and i had a heart attack right out of the clear blue... i'm on an aspirin regimen... and i take bayer chewables. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. he's my success story.

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updating the top stories. mitt romney returns home after what was supposed to be a low-key foreign trip. but major gaffes in london and the middle east left democrats and republicans shaking their heads. the federal reserve begins two days of meetings today. and an increasing number of fed officials think it may finally be time to take action to boost the still struggling economy. a man is recovering from an apparent shark attack af cape cod. a quick look at weather. afternoon showers in the northeast. thunderstorms and heavy downpours as well as flash flooding in the southwest part of the country. and one last olympic note this morning. female athletes are making tremendous strides at the games. >> but a group of male

competitors is asking for equality. julie futty of our sister network, espn, explains. >> reporter: at this pool in the heart of london, a group of medal-winning athletes is training for one of the most demanding of olympic sports, synchronized swimming. no matter how much much they train, how good they are, these swimmers are not wanted at the olympic games for one reason. they're guys. >> it's pretty well -- we want to challenge that and say, no. boys can do this, as well. >> reporter: they brought home the gold in some of the biggest international competitions. but because men are barred from olympic synchronized swimming, they're on the sidelinesff these summer games. they're not the first. kenyon smith, one of the best in the world, was blocked from beijing in '08. and bill may, who won all sorts of awards with women, was kept away from athens in 2004.

now, these brits say enough is enough. they have written a letter to the international olympic committee. so far, they say there's been no response. this olympics seems to be all about equality. and women having the opportunity. and you guys are sitting here, looking from the outside in. >> you think ha, ha. and the few people that have tried have always commented on how hard it is. >> reporter: but esther williams made it look so easy in the mov movies. and on "saturday night live," martin short and harry sheerer turned it into a big joke. how do you get people to take it seriously? >> ask people to try it out. >> get kids involved in synchro. build up the challenge. hopefully we see guys. >> reporter: i'm julie foudy in london. that's